Night at the Museum — The Broadmoor, November 2024

FOREWORD From the birth of Young Life in 1941, through its booming growth during the 1950s, to the tumultuous challenges (both inside and outside the mission) of the 1960s, we celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness through it all. We acknowledge it’s God who owns the work. Under his guidance, we learned how to care for kids through contact work, club, camp, and Campaigners. We also developed critical adult support through the creation of the national board, as well as local committees. This helped provide for the work, and cause it to grow around the U.S. and throughout the world.

During their fall meeting, the Young Life Board of Trustees, mission leadership, and special guests gathered to celebrate these first three decades of our mission. The evening of November 21, 2024, marked a night where we recognized the movements, discoveries, and men and women the Lord graciously used to establish this mission. It was a special evening, filled with laughter, gratitude, and many tears of joy.

May you be encouraged by the pages that follow, and in them see yourself and your many contributions to this great endeavor we call Young Life!

40s “That everyone has a right to know Jesus Christ, to know the facts concerning Him, which are a glorious array of facts concerning the greatest life that was ever lived …”

— Jim Rayburn, Founder and President (1941-1964)

“I don’t know what I can do, but I pray someone will rescue these kids. They don’t know where they’re going. They’re just wandering back and forth, and going where, nobody knows.”

— Clara Frasher Prayer

YOUNG LIFE INCORPORATES

OCTOBER 16, 1941 The first five staff: Addison Sewell, Wally Howard, Jim Rayburn, George Cowan, and Gordon Whitelock.

On Christmas Eve 1940, the Young Life Campaign Board of Directors was officially formed, comprised of John E. Mitchell (chair), Ted Benson (secretarytreasurer), and Dr. Lewis Chafer.

FROG SULLIVAN Club kid and future Young Life staffer shares his heart below.

THE TENT

USED FOR THE EARLY OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS, PICTURED HERE IN HOUSTON.

SPOTLIGHT

ADD SEWELL

Attended Dallas Theological Seminary with Jim Rayburn, 1938-39.

Helped Rayburn start the work in Gainesville, Texas.

Became one of the first five Young Life staff, 1940.

THE FATHER OF YOUNG LIFE CONTACT WORK, ADD DISCOVERED THE POWER IN CONSISTENTLY GOING TO WHERE THE KIDS WERE. In Gainesville, Add met Loveta, the first club kid Jim Rayburn ever led to Christ. The two married in 1941.

With Loveta by his side, Add started the work in east, Texas; Chicago, and helped start it in the Northwest.

Began the first Young Life student leadership at Wheaton College.

Began the first Young Life student leadership with students from a secular university, the University of Washington.

Helped Young Life acquire Malibu, 1953.

“I don’t remember much of what Add said or specific lessons, but I do remember perfectly how much I sensed his love for me. I learned about the way God loved me because of the way Add loved me.”

– Tom Raley

PHOTO OP Come be a part of the Gut Bucket Four!!

Happy kids about to enter the Star Ranch dining hall in the late 1940s.

President of Club Aluminum Products, which he salvaged from near bankruptcy and converted to multimillion-dollar business.

Founded the Christian Workers Foundation, 1939.

The Taylors underwrote the expenses of the 1940 summer tent campaign.

Taylor and the Christian Workers Foundation largely funded the first five staff salaries.

Gave Rayburn the ultimatum, “You’ll have to go national, Rayburn, or I’ll not give you another dime.”

THE TAYLORS PURCHASED STAR RANCH FOR YOUNG LIFE FOR $50,000 AND LEASED IT TO YOUNG LIFE FOR ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, 1946.

Elected to lifetime membership on the Young Life board of trustees, 1959.

SPOTLIGHT HERB AND GLORIA

TAYLOR

“Star Ranch was the best investment I ever made.

Probably thirty thousand kids heard the gospel at Star since we bought it.

That’s about a dollar and a half apiece.”

– Herb Taylor

50s “They have a right to know who He is; they have a right to know what He’s done for them. They have a right to know how they relate to that. They have a right to know Him personally. Furthermore, they have a right to make their own choice of Him.”

“GOLDBRICK”

ANDY “GOLDBRICK” DELANEY MAKES HIS FAMOUS BARBECUE.

Just one of the many busloads of kids that rolled into Frontier Ranch in the 1950s.

BECAUS OUTGRO

staff had to finding new lo – the Swan Fu here is Jim R 467 kids at t club (obviousl th

E CLUBS HAD OWN HOMES,

o become creative in ocations, like this one uneral Home. Pictured Rayburn (top left) with the Colorado Springs ly not everyone fit into he picture!)

The first Monday Morning staff newsletter, written, typed, and mailed out by Bob Mitchell, September 24, 1951.

THE BOARD

THE YOUNG LIFE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AT A 1954 MEETING IN DALLAS.

FIRST COMMITTEE

For the first ten years of the mission, Jim Rayburn traveled the country raising money to pay the staff as well as finance the cost of the three camps. Because of the continued growth throughout the U.S., this quickly became unsustainable.

IN 1951, BILL STARR INVITED CONCERNED ADULTS FROM VARIOUS CHURCHES ACROSS PORTLAND, OR, TO FORM LOCAL GROUPS TO HELP FINANCIALLY AND PRAYERFULLY SUPPORT THE STAFF THERE. THUS WAS BORN THE AREA COMMITTEE.

“The flight was smooth and beautiful and both Jim [Rayburn] and Add [Sewell] were almost overcome with the beauty and grandeur of the scenery. As we crossed over Patrick Point, my husband pointed out the buildings of Malibu ahead and never will I forget Rayburn’s statement in his Texan drawl, ‘There is Young Life’s next property.’”

— Elsie Campbell from Young Life’s Malibu (1984)

Malibu Club

Serving in World War II, Rod sensed a call to help spread the gospel in Europe.

Served on Young Life staff in Chicago in the late 40s and early 50s.

MOVED TO FRANCE IN 1953 – THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL STAFF FOR YOUNG LIFE! Began their work with American teens in Paris, mostly from local military bases.

Campaigners in the U.S. gave their nickels and dimes to support the Johnstons overseas.

Pioneered a camping program and helped us acquire Praz de Lys, our camp in the French Alps.

Served in France from 1953 to 1992.

By the time of Rod’s death in 2006, it was estimated that tens of thousands of kids in France had been impacted by their work.

SPOTLIGHT ROD AND FRAN JOHNSTON

“Rod’s strengths were his persistence, faithfulness, and the vision he had for ministry.

He and Fran really absorbed the French culture. Their home was always open. Their hearts for the work showed.”

– Ken Wright

EARLY MILITARY MINISTRY in Germany, 1959. Young Life staff have been serving almost continuously on military bases in Europe ever since. Officially named Club Beyond in 1980.

URBAN WORK HARV OOSTDYK SPEAKING IN A NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, URBAN CLUB IN THE LATE 1950S.

One of the first women to join Young Life staff, 1943.

Worked in Dallas at Young Life’s first office.

Pioneer and pacesetter for the mission.

Editor of Young Life magazine.

Started Young Life in Arkansas.

Helped start the work in Chicago, in Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

TAUGHT AND DISCIPLED COUNTLESS GIRLS ONE-ON-ONE AND IN CAMPAIGNERS IN HER 28 YEARS WITH YOUNG LIFE. Trained many staff women over the course of her three decades in the mission.

Was unafraid to let her colleagues and mission leadership know when something needed improvement!

Bold prayer warrior throughout her life.

SPOTLIGHT ANNE CHEAIRS

“Her prayer life was the thing I remember the most.

She didn’t just talk about prayer, she did it. Everyone was better from working with her. She did not accept anything but excellence.”

– Mal McSwain

DON JONES OF THE FBI is invited on to the board in 1958.

This helped bring legitimacy to the work of Young Life in the era of communist charges.

(Don Jones presenting plaque to J. Edgar Hoover.)

60s “It’s a group of people bound together in the single-minded purpose that there’s no price too high to pay to see to it that young people have a chance to know the Savior.”

SPOTLIGHT

VINNIE DI PASQUALE

In Newark, New Jersey, Vinnie was the leader of the Romans, the largest gang on the East Coast.

A recovering heroin addict, Vinnie had 25 arrests and 15 imprisonments to this point.

Harv Oostdyk drove Vinnie and three other gang members cross country to Frontier Ranch, 1956.

Here Vinnie, who was also known as “Diablo” or the devil, heard the story of the crucifixion for the first time.

After the cross talk, Vinnie went outside to pray for repentance and begin a relationship with Jesus.

VINNIE’S CONVERSION HELPED OPEN THE DOORS TO YOUNG LIFE’S URBAN MINISTRY. Vinnie returned home and began working with Bill Milliken on the east side of New York City.

Vinnie, Harv and Bill walked over the George Washington Bridge, dribbling a basketball and hoping to meet kids in the city, 1960.

“When Vinnie and I moved to the city, we had one gift between us: Like me, Vinnie could have earned a degree in hanging out. But that was exactly what was missing in the lives of those young people…Being there was what it was all about.”

– Bill Milliken

CROSS CARRIERS

BILL MILLIKEN SHARES LIFE WITH THE CROSS CARRIERS, 1963.

In 1959, Bo Nixon was an influential member of the Centurions, one of the largest gangs in Manhattan.

Bo met Young Life staffer, Bill Milliken, and was leery of the white man hanging out every day at the basketball court.

Nevertheless, he eventually traveled west with Milliken and other friends to Young Life’s Star Ranch, 1962.

Sitting under the stars after the cross talk, Nixon prayed, “Lord, if you can do anything with this life, you can have it.”

Bo joined another “gang” formed by Milliken – the Cross Carriers – and grew in his new relationship with Jesus.

BO CAME ON STAFF IN 1964 AND SERVED IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES, FROM AREA DIRECTOR TO REGIONAL DIRECTOR, FOR 41 YEARS. Bo started New Life in New York City, Inc, a separate ministry connected with Young Life Bo introduced Young Life to the camp we would soon purchase and rename Lake Champion, in lower New York State.

SPOTLIGHT BO AND MARY NIXON

“It is “Bo”, but, it is almost always “Bo and Mary” and they have always been a team. You can’t think of one without thinking of the other, and they have been terrific together.”

– John Wagner

Praz de Lyz

Young Life’s 25th anniversary commemorative tile.

Joined the Navy at 17, served in World War II, and became the youngest commissioned officer to serve in the armed forces.

Created the concept of the local committee in Portland, Oregon, 1950.

Became Young Life’s president in 1964, accepting the challenging role of “Joshua” to Rayburn’s “Moses.”

Alongside the board, Starr helped transform Young Life from a pioneering model to a corporate one.

Helped grow the mission’s international and urban work.

Helped start the benefits and retirement program, blessing thousands of staff through the years.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT WAS STICKING TO HIS FIRMLY HELD CONVICTION, NO MATTER THE AMOUNT OF OPPOSITION, THAT THE MISSION MUST INCLUDE BOTH SUBURBAN AND URBAN MINISTRY. Transitioned from Young Life president to the president of the Young Life Foundation, 1978.

SPOTLIGHT

“There was a push by many in the mission to make urban and suburban two separate organizations. They thought, ‘Well, God taught us how to work with middle-class kids. Why not just do that — we know how to do that.’ That to me was a denial of the Gospel; the oneness of Christ’s body. How could we talk about the Gospel and talk separation like this? To me it was incompatible theologically. We had to fight to keep it all together; it was not right to separate it. America was becoming more pluralistic all the time. It’s one mission. It’s one Gospel.”

BILL STARR

– Bill Starr

RAYBURN TO STARR In 1964, the board was instrumental in overseeing the transition of leadership from our founder, Jim Rayburn, to our second president, Bill Starr. This also helped Young Life transition from a first-generation pioneering model to a more professional, mission-effective infrastructure.

Trail West

THE ISSUE

For Young Life, the sixties would end on the same issue that ushered in the decade. As lives changed in the cities of New York, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Atlanta, and Orlando, minds were challenged in Colorado Springs. The Board of Directors was trying to come to a consensus on this question: Was the work going on in the cities really Young Life?

This was no mere philosophical question. These were challenges facing the foundational beliefs and tenets of the mission: What is the Gospel and who is it for? Would Young Life be willing (and able) to adapt its methods, while not compromising the message, to reach these dear lost kids? Was the mission ready, by embracing every race, to receive the pushback that would inevitably come?

These questions, particularly the last one, would be answered before the decade came to a close in an issue of Young Life’s magazine, Focus on Youth. No Young Life publication, before or since, has received the response the July 1968 issue did. Bill Starr reflected on this critical event in the history of the mission: “Dr. Martin Luther King appeared on the American scene in a big way in the sixties, preaching about the sin of racism. Many white churches and leaders from all walks of life joined in to be a part of the marches and demonstrations led by Dr. King and other black leaders. Many Christian organizations were shamefully quiet. Young Life was working in a number of urban areas out east with some very outstanding black leaders. We decided it was past time to declare our position. Young Life had needed a vehicle to express our convictions on a number of issues, so we developed a magazine called Focus on Youth. A group of us gathered in Colorado Springs to put together a focus issue on our support of the Civil Rights Movement.

We titled this issue “I’m Not a Problem, I’m a Man.” It created quite a stir—eight Young Life areas closed and let their staff go. We, at the same time, grew twelve new areas and raised thousands more dollars. It was another learning experience. If we do what our Lord asks us to do, He blesses us way beyond what we might expect Him to do! From that experience, we were able to add another whole division—Urban Ministries.”

Bob Mitchell agreed, “That issue was a defining moment. When Young Life published something like that, it made a statement about what we believed about humankind, what we believed about racism. That whole magazine was about racism. We grew into an understanding that the Gospel was inclusive and we had to be the same in the mission of Young Life.”

Windy Gap

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION!

BERMUDA: TUG-O-WAR, OLYMPIC SPORTS DAY, AND BAR-B-Q AT HORSESHOE BAY (MID-1960s).

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION!

BRAZIL: KIDS ENJOYING COKES® AFTER CLUB (1967).

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION! FRANCE: “FOUR FRENCH-FACED YOUNG LIFERS IN

PARIS AT THE TROCADERO” (YOUNG LIFE, APRIL 1961).

Saranac

THE FIRST YOUNG LIFE T-SHIRT. Discovered in Buena Vista, Colorado, at the Frontier Ranch property.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

THE BROADMOOR • NOVEMBER 2024

40s

50s

60s

ATTENDEES

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

40s 50s 60s CELEBRATING THE FIRST THREE DECADES OF OUR MISSION’S HISTORY …